lasvsluiWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: las is a pronoun, lui is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“las” is a pronoun and “lui” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#852
“las” frequency rank
#34,790
“lui” frequency rank
35642
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature las lui
Definition as, pronome demonstrativo alugar (tomar de aluguel)

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set las and lui apart are highlighted. They share 1 letter in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

3 ch
las
3 ch
lui

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: las is apronoun and luiaverb. On the page they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 35642, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

las is recorded at frequency rank #852, classified as apron. lui is at rank #34,790, tagged as averb, pronounced /ˈlu.i/..

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 35642, this pair ranks #31,379 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.

Orthographic DNA of las vs lui

Shared letters: l. Private to "las": as. Private to "lui": iu.

"las" · 3 letters · shape CVC  ·  "lui" · 3 letters · shape CVV

Frequency comparison

las#852
lui#34,790

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "las" and "lui" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "las" is a pronoun and "lui" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "las" or "lui"?
"las" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #852 in our Portuguese list, against #34,790 for "lui". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering las vs lui

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a pronoun, it's “las”; for a verb, it's “lui”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “las” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list